The Rhode Island State Senate voted 26 to 12 Wednesday to allow same-sex couples to marry in Rhode Island as early as Aug. 1. Finally, some progress in the skeptical heterosexual dominating culture! We are evolving yet!

According to PROVIDENCE, R.I., Rhode Island just became the nation’s 10th state to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed this last Thursday! This is thanks to a 16-year effort to extend marriage rights in this heavily Roman Catholic state which ended with the triumphant cheers of hundreds of gays, lesbians, their families and friends.

Governor Lincoln Chafee signed the bill into law on the Statehouse steps following a final 56-15 vote in the House. The first weddings will take place Aug. 1, which is also when the law takes effect.

“I’ve been waiting 32 years for this day, and I never thought it would come in my lifetime,” said Raymond Beausejour, a 66-year-old gay North Providence man who has been with his partner for 32 years. “For the first time in my life, I feel welcome in my own state.”

After Chafee signed the bill, the hundreds of people who gathered on the Statehouse grounds erupted into cheers as a chorus sang “Chapel of Love.”

“Now, at long last, you are free to marry the person that you love,” Chafee told the crowd.